H&T Group PLC (AIM:HAT) said margins in its pawnbroking business are picking up as increasing numbers of small customers look to raise cash.
The pledge book increased to £105 million (December 2023: £101m) with pledge lending 14% higher at £146m (H1 2023: £128m).
Spring saw a higher level redemption though these have now stabilised, H&T said.
Income from operations increased by 11% to £55.8m while profit rose 12.5% to £9.9m (£8.8m a year earlier) helped by watch and jewellery sales rising by 27% to £29.2 million with margins at 30%.
Record gold prices also helped metal purchase margins rise by six percentage points while foreign currency profits were £3.2m, up 10% year on year, with transaction volumes up 9% year on year.
The interim dividend rose by 7.7% to 7.0p per share, while H&T said it had also decided to switch its year-end to 31 December from the end of September.
Chris Gillespie, chief executive, said it was seeing new and returning customers, for whom alternative sources of small sum regulated lending are much constrained, while retail sales have also been encouraging.
“We remain focused on growing and broadening our core pawnbroking business and investing in the store estate."